| This study investigates, using the case study method, the development of crisis management plans and crisis decision-making at three universities, which had experienced a crisis. Crisis management is defined as a systematic process by which an organization attempts to predict or identify potential crises that the organization may face, take precautions to prevent the crises, or minimize the effects of the crises.; Crisis decision-making is characterized as decision-making under extreme pressure, serious time constraints and potential threat. Decision-making under such conditions is often poor at best. This study explores the importance of undertaking crisis management and highlights the consequences of failing to anticipate crisis on the modern university campus.; Believing that American colleges and universities were generally unprepared to handle a crisis, the researcher identified three institutions, which had faced crisis and survived, to determine: (1) whether or not crisis management plans existed at the time of the crisis; (2) the level of preparedness of the institutional leaders; (3) crisis related decision-making before, during, and after the crisis; and (4) to what degree the institutions were likely to develop new or redesign existing crisis management plans following the occurrence of the crisis.; The case studies led to the following conclusions: (1) where crisis management plans did exist, they were insufficient to meet the needs of the institution; (2) communication with internal divisions and external organizations and the development of a communications system are critical; (3) the influence of external organizations can severely impact the decision-making of university administrators; and (4) the administrative style of the university chief executive has a direct bearing on crisis management decision-making and the resolution of the crisis. |
